PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — More than 100 workers at Chestnut Hill Hospital are holding a day-long strike as they advocate for higher wages.

The members of the Service Employees International Union are demanding that hospital management meet with them to negotiate a new contract.

Garry Canada has worked as a certified nurse’s assistant at Chestnut Hill Hospital for 23 years. He says that on Friday, hospital workers talked with management for 12 hours as they tried to hammer out a new contract. Ultimately, negotiations fell through.

“There are many things that we had problems with. We’ve been trying for a contract for almost a year, but they really didn’t want to increase our wages,” he said.

Canada says the strike is not just about hiking their wages, it is also a way for them to raise awareness of the inequity at Chestnut Hill Hospital.

“We want to make the whole neighborhood aware of what’s going on here at their community hospital,” he said, “and hopefully get their support in trying to make the hospital understand that we’re out here not just for ourselves, but mostly for the community.”

In a written statement hospital officials said that during the strike they are staying open and fully operational.